A thought provoking question. Do these quotations help? Most of this is from
the Summa which goes into the matter further.
'It is written (Isaiah 65:17): “Behold I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be in remembrance”; and (Apocalypse 21:1): “I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone.”
Further, the dwelling should befit the dweller. But the world was made to be man’s dwelling. Therefore it should befit man. Now man will be renewed. Therefore the world will be likewise.
Further, “Every beast loveth its like” (Sirach 13:19), wherefore it is evident that likeness is the reason of love. Now man has some likeness to the universe, wherefore he is called “a little world.” Hence man loves the whole world naturally and consequently desires its good. Therefore, that man’s desire be satisfied the universe must needs also be made better.’
St. Thomas Aquinas
Speaking of the recreated earth:
‘The earth will not be glorified with brightness in the infernal regions. . . though the whole earth be glorified, the wicked will nevertheless be in exterior darkness, since even the fire of hell, while shining for them in one respect, will be unable to enlighten them in another.’
St. Thomas Aquinas
Speaking of the place of Hell as below the earth:
“Hell below was in an uproar to meet Thee at Thy coming.”
Isaiah 14:9
‘For as Jonah was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.’
Matthew 12:40 [Christ descended into that portion of Hell known as the Limbo of the Fathers]
‘According to Basil (Homilia vi in Hexaemeron and Hom. i in Ps. 38), at the final cleansing of the world, there will be a separation of the elements, whatever is pure and noble remaining above for the glory of the blessed, and whatever is ignoble and sordid being cast down for the punishment of the damned: so that just as every creature will be to the blessed a matter of joy, so will all the elements conduce to the torture of the damned, according to Wisdom 5:21, “the whole world will fight with Him against the unwise.” This is also becoming to Divine justice, that whereas they departed from one by sin, and placed their end in material things which are many and various, so should they be tormented in many ways and from many sources.’
‘After the day of judgment, no animal or mixed body will remain in the renewed world except only the body of man, because the former are not directed to incorruption [Cf. 91, 5], nor after that time will there be generation or corruption.’
‘. . . Revelation 5:3: “No man was able, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book”: where the words “in heaven” refer to the angels, “on earth” to men living in the body, and “under the earth” to souls in hell.’
‘Fire continues in that place for all eternity by the ordering of Divine justice. . . The fire there will be of the very greatest heat, because its heat will be all gathered together from all parts, through being surrounded on all sides by the cold of the earth.’
‘Hell will never lack sufficient room to admit the bodies of the damned: since hell is accounted one of the three things that “never are satisfied” (Proverbs 30:15-16). Nor is it unreasonable that God’s power should maintain within the bowels of the earth a hollow great enough to contain all the bodies of the damned.’
St. Thomas Aquinas
And there came down fire from God out of heaven, and devoured them; and the devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the beast And the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Apocalypse 20:9-10
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them; and they were judged every one according to their works. And hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire.
Apocalypse 20:12-15
And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake: Some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always.
Daniel 12:2
